Business structure: by employment size and turnover
Summary
Number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises
In March 2018, there were 43,530 VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises in the Lancashire-12 area, and 52,395 in the Lancashire-14 area.
Preston (5,165), Lancaster (4,585) and West Lancashire (4,410) had the largest numbers of enterprises in the Lancashire-12 area in 2018. Chorley (4,350) and Wyre (4,215) also had numbers greater than 4,000 enterprises.
Hyndburn (2,245) had the lowest number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises in both the Lancashire-12 and Lancashire-14 areas in 2018. Burnley (2,530), Pendle (2,790) and Rossendale (2,800) also had numbers lower than 3,000.
In Blackburn with Darwen, there were 4,960 VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises in 2018. This was the second largest figure in the Lancashire-14 area, behind Preston, whilst the Blackpool total (3,905) was the seventh largest in the Lancashire-14 area.
Change in VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises, 2011 to 2018
Between 2011 (the UK post-recession low point for the number of enterprises) and 2018, the number of enterprises in the UK increased by 28.3% (588,580). The percentage increases of 15.9% (5,985 enterprises) in the Lancashire-12 area, and 17.8% (7,910 enterprises) in the Lancashire-14 area were lower than the UK rise.
All of the Lancashire-12 areas recorded lower percentage increases than the UK (28.3%) between 2011 and 2018. Rossendale (23.1%, 525) saw the largest percentage rise in the area over the period, followed by Burnley (21.3%, 445), Chorley (21.2%, 760) and Preston (20.4%, 875 enterprises). Hyndburn (8.7%, 180) recorded the lowest percentage increase in the Lancashire-12 area since 2011.
In terms of increases to the number of enterprises in the Lancashire-12 area, Preston (875, 20.4%), Chorley (760, 21.2%) and West Lancashire (590, 15.4%) recorded the largest growth between 2011 and 2018, whilst Hyndburn (180, 8.7%) saw the lowest.
In the wider Lancashire-14 area, Blackburn with Darwen (34.8%) was the only local authority area to record a percentage increase in the number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises that was greater than the UK rise (28.3%) since 2011. Blackburn with Darwen (+1,280 enterprises) also saw the largest increase in the number of enterprises in the Lancashire-14 area between 2011 and 2018.
The increase in the number of enterprises in Blackpool (+645) was just over half of the rise in Blackburn with Darwen, however, the Blackpool increase was ranked in fourth position in the Lancashire-14 area. The percentage rise in Blackpool (19.8%) was lower than the UK increase and was the sixth highest in the Lancashire-14 area.
Yearly change in the number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises, 2017 to 2018
The number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises in the UK rose by just 630 enterprises (0.0%) between March 2017 and March 2018. This was by far the lowest yearly increase in the UK in the period from 2011 to 2018.
The Lancashire-12 area saw the number of enterprises fall slightly, by 20 (0.0%) between 2017 and 2018. This was contrary to the slight UK increase (630, 0.0%).
Within the Lancashire-12 area, eight areas recorded a reduction in the number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises between 2017 and 2018, amounting to a total fall of 240 enterprises. Wyre recorded no change. The largest falls were seen in Pendle (-60, -2.1%), West Lancashire (-55, -1.2%), Burnley (-35, -1.4%) and Hyndburn (-30, -1.3%).
Three of the Lancashire-12 areas saw increases to their number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises between 2017 and 2018. Rossendale (210, 8.1%) saw the largest rise in the area, followed by Preston (10, 0.2%) and Lancaster (5, 0.1%). In percentage terms, these were all greater than the zero percentage change recorded for the UK. The total of the increases in these three areas amounted to 225 enterprises. Please note that the individual local authority increases and decreases may not sum to the Lancashire-12 total, owing to rounding.
Both Blackburn with Darwen (305, 6.1%) and Blackpool (40, 1.0%) recorded increases to the number of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises in their areas between 2017 and 2018, amounting to a total rise of 345 enterprises.
For the Lancashire-14 area, the increases in Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool were offset by the slight decrease in the Lancashire-12 area and resulted in an overall rise of 325 enterprises (0.6%) in the Lancashire-14 area between 2017 and 2018. Please note that the increases and decreases for the individual local authorities, or sub areas, within the Lancashire-14 area may not sum to the reported change for the Lancashire-14 area, owing to rounding.
VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises by number of employees
Both the Lancashire-12 area (23.8%) and the Lancashire-14 area (24.4%) had a greater percentage of their enterprises employing 5 to 249 people than the UK average (21.7%). Blackburn with Darwen (29.2%) had the greatest percentage of its enterprises employing 5 to 249 people in the Lancashire-14 area, followed by Hyndburn (28.3%), Burnley (26.3%), West Lancashire (25.3%), Lancaster (25.2%) and Pendle (24.7%). Ribble Valley (21.3%), Chorley (21.4%), Wyre (21.6%) and Rossendale (21.6%) were the four areas that had percentages that were below the UK average.
The Lancashire-12 area (75.9%) had a lower proportion of very small enterprises (0-4 employees) than the UK (77.9%) in 2018. The Lancashire-12 area (0.3%, 140 enterprises) also had a slightly lower proportion of large enterprises (250+ employees) than the UK average (0.4%).
A similar spread of enterprises by size (by number of employees) was evident for the Lancashire-14 area. The percentage of enterprises with 0-4 employees (75.3%) was lower than the Lancashire-12 area (75.9%) and the UK average (77.9%).
Blackburn with Darwen (70.4%) had the lowest percentage of its enterprises in the 4 employees or fewer category in the Lancashire-14 area (UK = 77.9%). Blackpool had 75.2% of its enterprises in the 4 employees or fewer category, which was also lower than the UK average.
The Lancashire-14 area (0.3%, 180 enterprises) also had a slightly lower proportion of large enterprises (250+ employees) than the UK average (0.4%). Despite the number of these large organisations being small, they directly employ a significant number of people, and via purchasing of goods and services support many other jobs across the Lancashire-14 area and the UK.
Public sector VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises
Of the 43,530 enterprises in the Lancashire-12 area in March 2018, only 185 (0.4%) were in the public-sector. For the Lancashire-14 area, of the 52,395 enterprises, 225 enterprises (0.4%) were in the public-sector.
In the Lancashire-12 area, around 20 of the public sector organisations employed 250 or more people. For the Lancashire-14 area, around 25 of the public sector enterprises employed 250 or more people. These organisations represent an important proportion of the 180 enterprises allocated to the largest employment-size category (250 or more employees) in the Lancashire-14 area.
VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises by turnover
The turnover figures reveal that the £100,000 to £249,000 banding had the largest percentage of enterprises at the UK level (31.9%), followed by the £50,000 to £99,000 band (23.3%), and then the £49,000 or lower banding (16.3%). These three bandings accounted for the majority of the enterprises (71.4%).
In the Lancashire-12 area, the percentage of enterprises in the three lower turnover bands (those up to £249,000), at 70.2%, is slightly below the UK average of 71.4%. Conversely, the percentage of enterprises in the four higher turnover bands (£250,000 or more) in the Lancashire-12 area, at 29.8%, is slightly above the UK average of 28.6%.
A similar picture is evident for the Lancashire-14 area, with 29.7% of enterprises in the four higher turnover bands (UK = 28.6%) and 70.3% in the three lower turnover bands (UK = 71.4).
For the three lower turnover bands combined, the percentage of enterprises in these groupings were only higher than the UK average (71.4%) in Rossendale (73.8%), Wyre (72.4%) and Chorley (72.3%) in the Lancashire-12 area, and Blackpool (72.7%) in the Lancashire-14 area. Hyndburn (67.3%) had the lowest percentage of enterprises in the three lower turnover bands combined across the wider Lancashire-14 area.
Further analysis and data tables are contained in the article below.
Further analysisBusiness structure: size and turnover of VAT/PAYE-registered enterprises, March 2018 (PDF 766 KB) |
Page updated December 2018